Loud
by thefirstaider
Summary: Mistoffelees is contemplating Victoria's dance with Plato when he is surprised by an unexpected visitor. Could turn into a chapter story  - impressive engrish there eh?
1. Chapter 1

Loud.

That's what Mistoffelees wanted right now, watching the outside world from the opening of his den. Anything to break the silence that was hanging over the junkyard. There were storm clouds hanging threateningly overhead, and Misto wished more than anything that lightning would slash through the inky blackness of the night.

To be truthful, it wasn't the weather that had caused his ill temper. It was a certain brown and black Tom. And a certain Queen.

'_Why did she have to dance with Plato?'_ Mistoffelees had asked himself this question every day since the last Jellicle Ball. '_Why not me? I got old Deuteronomy back, I made her appear out of thin air during my song.'  
><em>He flinched as a drop of water fell on his paw, breaking his train of thought.  
>'<em>Maybe she thinks I'm a freak." <em>He thought, his stomach dropped with frighting familiarity. The rest of the tribe had thought that too, when he was only a kitten. When the Rum Tum Tugger adopted them, the tribe began to accept him but they were still wary. It seems a magical cat is just too different. '_Why couldn't she have picked me?'_

And then Mistoffelees got his wish, as the sky opened up and lighting split the darkness with a bang.

%%^^%%

It had been three weeks since the Jellicle ball and Victoria was getting worried. She hadn't seen a hair nor hide of Misto in 3 weeks. Every time she approached Coricopat or Tantomile, neither of them knew where he was. She was beginning to get scared.

She had given up the pretence of playing it cool, pretending not to care about where he was, or what he was doing. But she couldn't pretend any longer. She needed to find Misto.

What she wanted was to talk. She wanted her best friend back, and she'd be damned if she'd let him hide from her for one more day. Things had gone south with Plato the minute after he had offered to be her mate. He was rude, clumsy and rather annoying to be frank. She had the feeling that he was trying to be like the Rum Tum Tugger, but seriously lacked the class or skills to do so.

She twitched as rain began to fall. She ignored it, hoping it would be a passing shower.

'_Come on Misto, where are you?'_

Lighting rent the sky in two, with a loud roar following soon after that sent her scurrying for the nearest den. She didn't see the figure in the shadows as she dashed into the drain pipe, and promptly ran into it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought this den was empty." She said in one breath.

"Victoria?" replied a very disorientated Mistoffelees, sprawled on the floor. "What are you doing out here?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Dear all,**

**May not update for a while, as I will be in Aus with family. Promise to update lots in about a month. **

**~TheFirstAider**

Mistoffelees was stunned. He'd just turned to go back into the warmth of his den when a whirlwind of white fur had barrelled him over. He was currently sprawled rather uncomfortably on the floor.  
>"Victoria?" he repeated.<p>

"Misto?" She sounded shocked.

"The one and only, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you, and then it started raining and I just ran for cover." Victoria looked faintly embarrassed.

"Why were you looking for me?" Mistoffelees was now thoroughly confused.

"Because I haven't seen you in weeks."

"Haven't you been hanging around with your new friend Plato?" Mistoffelees tone was unmistakably bitter and Victoria recoiled at his words.

"Plato? Why do you care about Plato?"

"I don't." replied Misto, a little too defensively for Victoria's liking. She sighed, this was not going as well as she had hoped.

A heavy silence hung over the room. Every so often, Misto would raise his gaze from the floor to look at Victoria, who seemed to be lost in thought over what to do next.

"Misto." Mistoffelees started, and looked up. Victoria was looking at him. "Why have you been hiding from me?" She sounded unbearably sad.

For the first time in his life, Mistoffelees was at a loss for words.

"I haven't been hiding." He replied, still not making eye contact.

"I don't want to be Plato's mate. I want my best friend back." Her tone was almost pleading.

"Then why did you dance with him!" Misto looked her straight in the eyes.

"Why do you care?"

'_Because I love you.' _ The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he stopped himself.

"I don't" he repeated instead. Outside the storm was still raging, and Misto could see that Victoria was still wet and shaking from the cold. He crossed the room, pulled out a towel and handed it to her.

"You're going to catch a cold." He said softly. "Why don't you want to be Plato's mate? I thought that you really liked him."

"Not really. He's just rude and I can't stand him." Replied Victoria, wrinkling her nose. Mistoffelees laughed at her expression, and the atmosphere of the room lightened instantaneously.

"But I can't formally decline the offer until a month after the Jellicle Ball, unless someone else asks to be my mate. Anyway, where have you been the last few weeks? I couldn't find you anywhere."

Mistoffelees blanched, how could he tell her that he had been hiding from her?

"Uh, well, I've just been training a lot." This wasn't necessarily a lie, he had been working on controlling his powers. Only because it distracted him from her. In the weeks they had been apart, he had been battling with himself over whether to challenge Plato for the right to be Victoria's mate, or to let her be happy with him.

'_What if she isn't happy with him?'_ his selfish inner voice would say.

'_Do what is best for her.'_ Another voice would reply.

Mistoffelees was at war with himself over what to do about her. And with Victoria being here, telling him that she didn't love Plato, it would bring matters rapidly to a head.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:  
><strong>_'There is something different about him'_ thought Victoria as she sat down opposite the magical Mr. Mistoffelees in the cramped den. She gave him a once over as she continued to dry off.

His sleek black coat was impeccably groomed as usual, his amber eyes gazing into space. His shoulders were laid back and his features gave away nothing of what was going on inside his head. He looked the same as he always had. But something was still not right.

'_He looks thin_.' Thought Victoria, still eyeing her friend curiously. Mistoffelees had always had the slightest build among all the Jellicles in the junkyard, but he had always moved with a grace that emanated power. Now he looked like a stiff wind could knock him over.

"Mistoffelees?" she asked tentatively. Misto started with surprise and looked over at her.

"Yes Victoria?"

She paused, not sure how to ask him the question she wanted.

"Are you… alright? You look tired… and stressed? What's wrong?"

Misto inhaled sharply, and braced himself to lie to her. But when he met her gaze, he found he couldn't.

"I've just been worried… about you. I didn't think Plato was a good mate for you, but you seemed so happy dancing with him at the Ball."

Victoria raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't think Plato was a good match for me?" she replied playfully, grinning slightly. Misto blushed, and looked down at his feet.

"Well, _Magical Mr Mistoffelees_, who do you think would be a good mate for me?" Victoria was just teasing him.

Mistoffelees breathing got a bit faster as he summoned his courage. He blinked rapidly and looked up from the ground. He looked her straight in the eyes and softly replied.

"I would."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

For a moment Victoria was silent. She was stunned.

"You… want to be my mate?" she said in a voice barely above a whisper. Misto simply nodded, still breathing very fast. He looked a tad stunned himself, as if he couldn't believe what he had just said.

"I've loved you since the day I met you." Misto was looking at her intently, gauging her reaction and praying that he hadn't said too much.

Victoria didn't make a sound. This wasn't right, Misto was her friend, her best friend. He could never have feelings like that for her. But he did. She felt faint.

"Victoria?" Victoria looked up at him, he looked concerned.

"I need to go." She said in a voice that was at least an octave higher than its usual pitch. "I just… bye Misto."

She raced out the door and into the storm.

%%^^%%

Misto just stood there, looking at the door. He felt empty. It was only when black spots began to dance before his eyes that he remembered to breathe. He didn't feel the tears streaking down his face.

He had told her and she had left.

No.

He had told her, and she had run. She had run away from him.

Suddenly, Misto was filled with uncontrollable anger.

'_Why can't she love me! Am I that different from any other Jellicle?'_

"STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! Why did you tell her?" He yelled.

Mistoffelees hurled an empty tin across the room with a cry of anguish, before dissolving into a sobbing wreck on the floor.

'_Why can't she love me?'_

She had been his friend since they were kittens. Mistoffelees had just been adopted by the Rum Tum Tugger, but was still shunned by the tribe. Even Jennyanydots, who took care of the kittens, was afraid of him.

But Victoria wasn't. She was kind and it was she who showed the rest of the tribe that he was nothing to be afraid of.

From the moment he had laid eyes on her he was love struck. In his father's hideout, Macavity's hideout, there had never been beauty of any kind. I Misto's opinion, the junkyard was a much nicer place than Macavity's hideout, especially with Victoria around.

When Mistoffelees had watched her dance at the Jellicle Ball, he had been entranced by her grace and beauty. He was so enraptured that he had almost missed his cue to sing.

But then she had danced with Plato. To make matters worse Plato had offered to be her mate. He felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest.

But despite this, when they had stood side by side while Old Deuteronomy sang about addressing a cat, Misto couldn't help but be in awe of her. Couldn't help but love her.

But she didn't love him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Victoria was sitting in the rain on top of a junk pile. She was soaked, shivering and cold. Her normally fluffy white fur was clumped together with rain and mud, giving her the appearance of a drowned rat.

'_What have I done.'_

She had run out of Mistoffelees den and into the rain because she had panicked. Her best friend had professed his love for her, bared his soul to her, and she had run away.

He would never forgive her.

Her heart was racing, and all she could hear was the blood pounding in her head.

'_Why did I run?' _ She asked herself. Misto hadn't used his powers, scared her, or tried to hurt her at all. So why was she so terrified. Plato had told her that he loved her, several times. She had never reacted this way before.

'_Maybe it's because you love him.'_ Her subconscious piped up. Victoria went still. She had never thought of Misto in that way, or more accurately, never dared to think of him in that way. They had always only been friends.

'_You could be more than friends…'_ her subconscious intruded again, shattering her thoughts as she tried to collect them.

Victoria sat in the pouring rain for almost an hour until she made up her mind.

She was going to see him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

Mistoffelees was sitting slumped at a table with his head resting on his hands. He had calmed down considerably since Victoria had left. Calmed down enough to think about what to do.

'_I can't stay here.'_ Thought Misto miserably. '_Not if she can't stand me.'_

There was a soft knock on the door. Mistoffelees jerked upright and turned around. He stood up slowly and crossed the den to open the door.

A small white queen stood in his doorway. It was Victoria.

Outside the storm raged on, and it was obvious that she had been out in it. The air outside the den was frigid, but Victoria stood perfectly still despite her soaked state.

"Misto can I talk to you?" she asked the question quietly.

Misto didn't trust his voice and simply nodded, standing aside to let her into the den.

Victoria walked over and stood near the place Misto had been sitting only moments before.

"Earlier tonight you said you loved me." Victoria began. "Is that true?"

Misto looked at her sadly.

"I do love you." He acknowledged, with a sad smile.

Victoria started.

"You still love me?" She sounded surprised.

Misto shrugged.

"The heart wants what the heart wants."

"But I ran."

"I know." Misto sounded positively miserable.

Victoria had not expected this. She thought that he would hate her for running away, not that he would still love her.

"Why did you come back?" he asked, cocking his head to one side.

"I didn't know why I ran away Misto. Plato told me that he loved me many times, and I never reacted like that." Misto scowled at the mention of Plato's name.

"But I just thought about why I ran away and … I-realised-that-I-kinda-love-you." She finished very quickly.

Misto looked at her curiously.

"You realised what? I didn't quite catch that last part." In truth, Misto had understood 'that last part', but he didn't believe that he had heard correctly. Victoria steadied herself with a deep breath.

"Because I love you."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Victoria looked up shyly at Mistoffelees. She didn't quite know what to expect. The cat in question was standing as still as a statue. It wasn't long before he got over his shock and huge smile spread across his face. Victoria smiled back sheepishly.

"So what now?" she asked.

Misto let out a long breath before replying, and looked into her eyes.

"Be my mate?" Misto was strangely calm, given the magnitude of the question he had just asked.

The ball was in her court now.

"Yes."

That simple word was music to Misto's ears.


End file.
